Creation
by Silindro
Summary: HIATUS Third chapter lost in a reformat The sound of Edward's eternal damnation was screaming behind his closed bedroom door. It was her fault for asking, and his fault for being selfish. Bella was in agony, and she had two days left to die. 2/3
1. Inconsolable

**Creation**

_1. Inconsolable_

The sound of the grandfather clock chiming the late hour paled in comparison to the loudness of the screams that echoed throughout the house from behind Edward's closed bedroom door. It was the sound of his eternal damnation, painfully heard by all members of the Cullen family as they sat in the living room, patiently waiting out the first evening of Bella's change with their brother and son.

Although the atmosphere was serious, it was not noticeably sad even though the pained woman at the top of the stairs was physically dying. Everyone in the room knew that it was a necessary evil and a path they had all walked at some point in their lives. Only Edward seemed remorseful about the whole situation since the entire thing was his doing. He had been against it from the very beginning. But in the end it was her life and her decision, and not even his disapproval would have stopped her.

As the second chime of the clock faded, another anguished cry filled its vacated space. The screams had been gaining in their intensity through the night. Carlisle had warned before that the pain would only get worse until the last of her body's tissues were killed by the venom from Edward's bite. It had been many years for all of the vampires in the room since their transformations, but they could vaguely remember the feeling of their bodies slowly shutting down. For Edward, knowing that he had brought that pain upon Bella was the worst feeling of all.

Everyone knew that Edward was coming down on himself harshly for turning Bella into something of nightmares. For Carlisle and Rosalie, they understood Edward's reluctance to change Bella from her human state more than anyone else in the family. They had both been the reasons for their mates' existences, even if Rosalie had only been the one to choose Emmett. Rosalie was still somewhat bitter about Bella's decision in the end. Carlisle, however, only wanted what was best for his son.

From the sofa Esme could see Edward's reflection in the window as he stood staring out at nothing. His face was calm, showing none of the shame that she knew was tearing him apart inside. She supposed that each tormented scream was having an equal effect on all of her children. Whereas each member of the family had not been familiar with the rest of the Cullens before their transformation, Bella had been a part of their lives for the past two years. It was heartbreaking to hear her suffering.

Even Alice, the always-cheerful one, was somber and silent. She had seen the outcome of Bella's decision weeks before, but that vision of contentment hadn't prepared her for the distress that she currently felt wrapped in Jasper's arms. It would have been easy for him to lighten the mood with his powers of manipulation, but suffering through the torture of Bella's pain was a solemn reminder to them all that vampires were not to be created often or lightly.

"Edward! Oh _god_, Edward!"

The agonized scream caused Edward to flinch somewhat. Until that point Bella had been screaming for the sake of letting out some of the pain. Names and words had escaped her.

"Go to her," Esme commanded softly. "She needs you."

The nod of his head was so small that Esme wondered if she had seen it at all. But he turned and walked slowly up the stairs with the eyes of his family watching his every move. It would have been unnerving if he weren't so worried about Bella. Her cries pulled him forward, closer and closer to face his guilt.

The light from the hallway emptied into the room as he opened the door. It lit up the wall briefly and was gone before Bella had taken the opportunity to let loose another loud bellow for everyone downstairs to hear at full volume. It was bad enough that they could hear her at all.

The elaborately decorated bed that Edward had bought was being put to good use as Bella had obviously been tossing and turning in her fits of pain. It had only seemed right to give her what little comfort they could in her darkest hour. The sheets and pillows that had covered the mattress were pushed off onto the floor, and only the fitted sheet remained. He could see her fingers grasping for something to hold onto, but the flat surface of the mattress yielded nothing. He knew that as time wore on, her fingers would more than likely puncture through and make a mess of things.

She didn't seem to notice his entrance much, as she was still yelling loudly, her throat not yet hoarse in the hours since the bite. With each gasp of air she lifted off the bed slightly, and the veins in her neck and arms bulged against the strain of the movement. Not a moment did she still. Edward wondered if she would continue to writhe in such a manner until the last necessary breath had left her body.

He could see in the dim light the puncture wounds that his teeth had left in her flawless skin. The marks stood out against her wrists like black marks on a piece of white paper. The blood spilt had dried long before, and the wounds themselves had congealed as the flesh had died. It was an almost sickening thought.

"Bella," he said as he crossed the room to stand at the side of the bed.

Her eyes moved sharply to the side, finally noticing his presence in the room. Laboriously she rolled onto her stomach, crawling the two or three feet to the edge of the bed. She reached out for Edward's cold, pale hand, holding onto it with a fierce grip. The breaths that had wracked her body in loud wails before toned down to hiccupped sobs and moans as she struggled to find the words to convey what she wanted to say.

"D-d…" she stuttered into the back of his hand.

"Bella." He closed his eyes tightly.

"Die," she breathed. "L-let me _die_."

The words were not as painful as he thought they should have been. After all, he knew from personal experience that wishing for death was the most logical thing to do in the situation. It was hard to see light in a dark place where there was nothing good. He understood that. He tried his best to reason with the dying woman.

"Bella you don't want that," he said calmly.

"_Kill me_."

"That's what I've done," he sighed.

"Now," she pleaded. "I…can't…do this."

"You can and you will."

The look that crossed Bella's face was the darkest look he could ever remember seeing mar her beautiful features. It was almost frightening in its intensity. Some part of him felt compelled to give in to her plea, but he needed to be the strong one. He knew that the rest of her unnatural life depended on him.

When he closed the door behind him Carlisle was waiting. The older man seemed to understand his son's distress, even if the emotionless face gave no indication that there was a problem.

"She'll thank you when this is over," he assured.

The screams began again, more sorrowful than before. Edward looked away from his father's face. He didn't think he could stand to look at anyone then, not even his own face in a mirror. He knew he was a monster. He didn't need to see his reflection to know that for sure.

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A/N: After reading the entire series in one weekend, I decided to try my hand at this area of the fanfiction world. There were far too many sickeningly sweet, cliché, awful stories out there, and this seemed appropriate. Sorry to bust your fluff-loving bubbles.

More to come soon! (I hope)

_**Silent readers go to the very bowels of fanfiction Hell. Review!**_


	2. Comfort

**Creation**

_2. Comfort_

At some point during the course of the morning Edward had situated himself on the couch in his bedroom. For hours he had been sitting, staring at Bella as she struggled to deal with the pain that he had inflicted the night before. It seemed to him that her cries were much quieter when he was in the room. Of course some of the loudness had been taken from her voice from all of the screaming she had done, but Carlisle had also said that at some point her vocal chords would fail, just as the rest of her body would.

Idly Edward wondered if she would fall into an exhausted sleep, or whether she was past that necessity. He couldn't remember if he had slept at all during his transformation. Then again the feeling of dying wasn't exactly something she could ignore for long enough to doze off. If sleep were on his own agenda, he seriously doubted that he would have been able to shut his eyes. That went for the rest of his family as well.

When he had left the living room that morning, Alice's head had been hidden under a pillow on the couch. She had caved under the stress of hearing a dear friend dying. It hadn't surprised him at all, really. Even her constant good mood needed a break. She would be back to normal when things were over, though. He wasn't worried about anyone. They would survive.

Edward dug Bella's ring out of his shirt pocket. It had been Carlisle's idea to ease the process if there were fewer trinkets and garments to get in the way. That suggestion explained her current state of half-dress. In her frustration at the lack of something to grab onto, Bella had begun to rip at the nightgown Esme had given to her. As a consequence, one of her long legs was bared, and the left strap of the gown was at risk of snapping.

Edward struggled with his emotions as he watched Bella through dark, thirsty eyes. One part of him was entirely taken with the vision of her writhing in pain on the bed. To him, it wasn't difficult to imagine her cries as cries of passion, and her movements cause by his own hands. The other part of him was guilty at thinking such things.

His thoughts strayed to the night of their wedding, a time that seemed so far away in his mind. The wedding had just been days earlier, and Bella hadn't wanted to spare any time in making her transition. But he had promised to uphold his end of the bargain. That night he had taken her in her human state of being, loved her as much as he was able. The restraint had been difficult, but she was so fragile and he was so afraid of breaking her.

"Oh. Bella," he sighed softly. "Am I such a monster for these thoughts?"

Turning her head to the side, Bella stared at Edward with eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. Her mouth was open, taking in heavy breaths, trying her best to compete with lungs that were slowly beginning to suffocate her. Her chest heaved with the struggle, threatening to spill her breasts from the torn garment. As if reading his mind, Bella reached up and clawed at the gown, breaking the strap and freeing herself from its confines.

"What was the purpose in that?" Edward asked.

"Can't…breathe," she gasped.

"You'll get over that," he assured. "After tomorrow you won't need to breathe."

A skeptical look came across Bella's face as she took in Edward's claim. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that what he said was true. But laying on her death bed, she couldn't help but wonder if he was only trying to comfort her. She worried that maybe the whole situation was a ruse. It was an unfounded fear, but one she couldn't shake.

Edward had picked up one of the sheets lying in the floor with intentions to cover Bella's exposed body. Not that it mattered if everyone in the house saw her nudity, but he wanted some things only for his eyes. Her body was at the top of that list. He was far too possessive of it.

"Are you cold?" he asked as he laid the sheet over her body. His hands lingered on her skin, still feeling the warmth of living flesh. She hadn't yet taken on the cold, stone-like quality that was characteristic of vampire skin.

"I hurt," she said pitifully, reaching out to pull him down to her level.

Edward took a seat on the edge of the bed at her unspoken command. Immediately he felt her warm hands wrap around his arm, squeezing and scratching. She was still such a frail creature, and he wondered if he would eventually get over their equality after the years they had spent together. He had always been the protector. Would she still see him that way after the change?

"Bella," he said as he lay down at her side. "I know that this is difficult for you, but it'll be over soon."

Closing his eyes, he tried his best to imagine the future. It was hard to see Bella as the blood-drinking, crazed newborn that she would become. He knew that it was only temporary, but the first few years he knew would be difficult for her. They would also be difficult for him as well since he would be the one teaching her how to survive in her new life.

"Edward," she gasped, taking in large breaths of air. "H-hold me."

It was easy to hear the tears in her wavering voice. She was ready to cry, though with all of the things happening, Edward couldn't figure out what one specific reason was the culprit. He assumed that there was nothing he could do but stay with her and comfort her as much as he could.

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A/N: Typically I completely write all of my multichaptered stories before I post the chapters, but like an idiot, I didn't do that for this story. Hopefully the last chapter will be posted in the next week or two. Have a paper due next week.

LLsiLindroLL is my AIM screen name if anyone wants to nag at me about posting.

_**Silent readers go to fanfiction Hell. Review**_!


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